Grok 4.1 Fast vs Granite-4.0-H-Small
Grok 4.1 Fast comes out ahead, 71 to 63 on our weighted score, though Granite-4.0-H-Small is 2.4× cheaper per token.
- Our pick
xAIGrok 4.1 Fast
71/100- ECI—
- Price$0.20 / $0.50
- Context2M
IBMGranite-4.0-H-Small
63/100- ECI—
- Price$0.064 / $0.265
- Context131K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Grok 4.1 Fast is our pick
Grok 4.1 Fast is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Granite-4.0-H-Small (63). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Granite-4.0-H-Small wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceGranite-4.0-H-SmallGranite-4.0-H-Small $0.114 · Grok 4.1 Fast $0.275 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGrok 4.1 FastGrok 4.1 Fast 2,000,000 · Granite-4.0-H-Small 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsGrok 4.1 FastGrok 4.1 Fast: Text, Images · Granite-4.0-H-Small: Text
- Self-hostingGranite-4.0-H-SmallPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Grok 4.1 Fast | Granite-4.0-H-Small |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 76 | 95 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 72 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 71/100 | 63/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Grok 4.1 FastxAI | Granite-4.0-H-SmallIBM |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.20 | $0.064 (best) |
| Output | $0.50 | $0.265 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.275 | $0.114 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Official watsonx.ai API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 2,000,000 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 30,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | — | ibm/granite-4-h-small |
| API providers | 2 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Nov 19, 2025 | Oct 2, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Grok 4.1 Fast$3.00
- Granite-4.0-H-Small$1.17
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Grok 4.1 Fast or Granite-4.0-H-Small?
Grok 4.1 Fast is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Granite-4.0-H-Small (63). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Granite-4.0-H-Small wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Grok 4.1 Fast or Granite-4.0-H-Small?
Granite-4.0-H-Small is cheaper at $0.064 input / $0.265 output per million tokens (official watsonx.ai API price). Grok 4.1 Fast costs $0.20 input / $0.50 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.114 per million tokens for Granite-4.0-H-Small versus $0.275 for Grok 4.1 Fast (2.4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Grok 4.1 Fast has not been scored yet and Granite-4.0-H-Small has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Grok 4.1 Fast and Granite-4.0-H-Small yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Grok 4.1 Fast has the largest context window at 2,000,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Granite-4.0-H-Small. Maximum output per response: Grok 4.1 Fast up to 30,000, Granite-4.0-H-Small up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Grok 4.1 Fast accepts text and images; Granite-4.0-H-Small accepts text. Grok 4.1 Fast handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Granite-4.0-H-Small publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Grok 4.1 Fast is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Grok 4.1 Fast is the newest, released Nov 19, 2025. Granite-4.0-H-Small came out Oct 2, 2025.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.
